Automated document dispensing machines such as ATMs contain supplies of documents to be dispensed. Usually such machines dispense several types of documents. These documents may include different denominations of paper currency or travelers checks. It is the general practice to load a store of documents into an ATM in specialized containers called "canisters". Canisters are usually filled with documents at locations away from the ATM under secure conditions. Normally each canister will contain only one type of document. Canisters generally contain locking mechanisms which secure the canisters once they are filled with documents. Canisters are transported to the ATM in the locked condition. Special unlocking mechanisms inside the ATM unlock the canisters as they are loaded into the machine.
Canisters are designed to operate in conjunction with the particular document removal mechanism incorporated into the ATM. The canister is an integral part of the document dispensing system. An example of a canister adapted for use in an ATM is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,113,140.
Canisters present the advantage of allowing large numbers of documents to be loaded into ATMs quickly and also permit interchangeability of canisters between machines which have the same type of document removal mechanism. All paper currency in the United States has the same physical dimensions and consistency regardless of denomination. Therefore, canisters which are used to dispense paper currency are interchangeable with regard to the denomination of the currency which may be dispensed therefrom.
While the interchangeability of document canisters between ATMs and the ability to place different types of paper currency in the same canister are desirable features, problems have developed. First, most ATMs are designed to dispense a plurality of denominations of bills and therefore must contain a plurality of canisters, one for each denomination of bills. Most ATMs are designed so that each bill type must be provided at a particular location inside the ATM to achieve a proper dispense. Failure to load the various bill canisters into the proper canister locations will result in malfunctions; for example, the ATM dispensing ten dollar bills when twenty dollar bills are requested.
Financial institutions and other operators of ATMs have sought to avoid these problems by physically labeling each canister with information on the document type contained therein and by labeling the corresponding positions for the canisters inside the ATM. Taking these precautions generally insures that the person loading the canisters will do so properly; however, errors still occur. Further, it is difficult to remove such permanent labeling from a canister when it is desired to use the canister to dispense a different type of document.
As canisters are an integral portion of the document delivery system, defects in a canister may cause dispense failures. Such failures sometimes occur infrequently at irregular intervals making the cause of the problem difficult to pinpoint. Some operators of ATMs have assigned serial numbers to their canisters to monitor whether certain of them are involved in an extraordinary number of dispense failures, which may indicate a defective condition. As serial numbers are generally printed on the canisters in a human readable form, tracking the identity of canisters involved in failures requires considerable bookkeeping and paperwork. Such manual record keeping is often subject to human error. In addition because dispense failures are generally readily corrected, all failures may not be reported. These problems make keeping track of the canisters involved in failures burdensome and available records are often inaccurate.
Additional problems may arise when several entities such as a group of banks elect to operate a network of many ATMs, which are located away from the banks such as in grocery stores, shopping malls, and airports. In such a network several of the financial institutions may wish to share responsibility for servicing the ATMs, including providing the canisters filled with documents and currency. In these situations there is need to know the origin of the currency or documents dispensed from each ATM to settle accounts between the participants. For example, if a customer of a first bank receives money at an ATM located in a shopping mall and the currency in that ATM belonged to a second bank, it is necessary to keep track of the parties involved in the transaction so that the first bank can repay the second bank for the money received by its customer. Tracking accounts is less complex if the second bank always provides the currency dispensed from a particular ATM and the identity of the ATM where each transaction occurs is maintained in the records of the network. The situation becomes increasingly complicated however when several entities share responsibility for loading currency into the same ATM; for example, each providing the currency on alternative weeks. This greatly complicates the record keeping necessary to settle accounts between the various parties involved. Such record keeping is prone to inaccuracy because it is difficult to keep track of the origin of the currency or documents involved in particular transactions. As more entities share responsibility for loading documents into ATMS, the problems of record keeping grow proportionately.
Others have previously attempted to overcome some of the foregoing problems by labeling document canisters in a manner which can be received by the computer system which controls the operation of an ATM. Such information may be stored or utilized in combination with other data to accomplish such things as, for example, to prevent operation of the ATM when the canisters have been misloaded and to track the particular serial numbers assigned to such canisters. Unfortunately, all of the systems known in the prior art are of limited usefulness or have other undesirable characteristics. De La Rue Systems Ltd. of London, England has developed a system which identifies the denomination of the currency contained in a document canister loaded into an ATM. De La Rue's system involves the placement of a magnetic element on an external portion of each canister. The location of the magnetic element is dependent on the denomination of the contained currency. If the canister is loaded into the ATM correctly, the magnetic element will be located adjacent to a magnetic sensing switch mounted inside the ATM near the canister. When the magnetic element is adjacent to the switch, a signal is generated. It is only when all the signals from the canisters are present that the ATM will operate. While this system prevents operation of the ATM when canisters are misloaded, it has the limitation that the ATM cannot be operated until the problem is identified and corrected. In addition, the location of the magnetic elements on De La Rue's canisters are difficult to change, making it difficult to change a canister from one denomination of currency to another. Due to variance in the strength of magnetic elements, a canister with a weak magnet may not actuate the magnetic sensing switch in the ATM. Also the magnetic elements tend to lose magnetic strength with the passage of time and vibration which frequently occurs during transport, accelerates demagnetization. The De La Rue system provides no means of indicating ownership, serial numbers of the canisters or for indicating the status of the documents.
The Inter Innovation Company of the Netherlands has also developed a method of labeling canisters used in its ATMs. This system involves placement of information concerning the denomination of the bills contained in a canister as well as the serial number assigned to the canister, on a read-only memory (ROM) computer chip installed in the canister. When the canister is placed in the ATM, an electrical lead inside the ATM is connected to the canister. The information on the ROM is then read by the computer which controls the operation of the ATM. This method provides the advantage that canisters can be installed in any canister location in the ATM and the computer system will conform the operation of the document dispensing mechanisms to the denomination of the bills located in the corresponding canisters. Inter Innovation's method also provides a means of tracking the location of each canister by its serial number which can be combined with information on the ownership of the various canisters stored in the memory of the computer to settle accounts. In addition, information on the canisters involved in failures can be stored in the memory of the computer which operates the ATM and can be analyzed to determine if any canister is demonstrating an extraordinary number of failures suggestive of a defective condition. The Inter Innovation system has several limitations, however. Canisters loaded with currency are heavy and are frequently transported significant distances prior to being installed in an ATM. Transport exposes the canister to vibration and extremes of temperature which can damage the ROM. In addition, because canisters are loaded and unloaded frequently, the electrical connectors between the ATM and the canister wear out rapidly resulting in failures. The Inter Innovation system is expensive to implement due to the need to include additional electrical equipment in the canister and the ATM as well as to program each ROM. The ROM is sensitive to static electricity and may lose all or a portion of its memory due to exposure to small static charges created by clothing or carpeting. Also if the information is going to be utilized to settle accounts among institutions, the computer operating the ATM must be programmed and a portion of its available memory dedicated to storing ownership information concerning each canister. Lastly, the information on the ROM is difficult to change in the event it should become necessary to dispense a different type of currency from a canister or to change the serial number.
There is frequently a need for ATMs to dispense documents other than currency. Usually these documents are dispensed using the same dispense mechanisms which were originally designed to handle only paper currency. Such documents may include, for example, travelers checks, coupons, and gift certificates. Such documents will generally have physical characteristics that differ somewhat from paper currency. Often however these documents may be effectively dispenses provided that the operation of the dispense mechanism is slightly modified. In many cases such modifications can be automatically implemented provided that the computer which controls the operation of the dispensing mechanism has available a sub-routine which will operate to control the ATM's dispense mechanism in accordance with the characteristics of the documents. The parameter which may need to be modified may include, for example, the speed at which the dispense mechanism operates or the cycle times of certain components of the dispense mechanism. If a means is available to distinguish these other documents from currency in the canister, these changes in the operation cycle of the dispensing mechanism can be implemented by the computer automatically. In addition, paper currency itself may have different characteristics depending on whether it is new or used. If is therefore desirable to vary the operating parameters of the dispensing mechanism to better suit the character of the currency in a canister. To applicant's knowledge no prior system has been developed that is capable of presenting such information on a document canister in a form that can be received and utilized by the computer which operates an ATM.
As a result of the limitations which exist in prior systems, there exists a need for an inexpensive and reliable apparatus and method for providing, identifying, and indicating information concerning the contents of a document canister, which information can be read, transmitted, and utilized by a computer controlling the operation of an ATM or other document dispensing mechanism and which information is secure from tampering but may be readily changed by authorized personnel.